


Book of the Dumb

by thanku4urlove



Category: Hey! Say! JUMP, Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: (and secondhand book stores), Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Demons, Demon Summoning, Humor, M/M, Originally Posted on LiveJournal, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-10-29 13:30:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20797409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanku4urlove/pseuds/thanku4urlove
Summary: While shelving donated books, Inoo comes across something disturbing. Hikaru sees it as the perfect prop for a prank.





	Book of the Dumb

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Evil Dead. Much, much less frightening than Evil Dead. (my yearly Halloween fic for 2015)

“Can’t we just go home?” Inoo asked, the whine in his voice making Hikaru roll his eyes.

“If you don’t want to work the last shift of the day, don’t sign up for it.” He answered, Inoo huffing and picking up another cardboard box of books. Hikaru enjoyed his job at the secondhand bookstore, and he knew Inoo did too, but they were both tired, and the musty smell of books did, eventually, lose its magic a little. He and Inoo had been unpacking books for hours and placing them on shelves, the pile in the back only about half finished.

“Hikaru, are we allowed to accept this?”

“What?” Usually, they only rejected secondhand books if they we horribly ripped, or the pages were sticking together, but the book Inoo was extending in his direction looked like it had neither afflictions, Hikaru frowning as he took it from his friend. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Well... What is that binding even made of?”

It took Hikaru a moment to realize what Inoo was pointing out, and when he did he shouted, the book dropping to the floor. It definitely wasn’t traditional binding, no string or cardboard, the front and back covers leathery to the touch. His shout had scared Inoo, as though confirming a suspicion, his friend looking at the book with a mixture of fear and disgust.

“It looks straight out of a horror movie. We should burn it.”

“We can’t burn it.” Hikaru objected, stooping to pick it up. “It’s a book.” He flipped it open, much to Inoo’s indignation, reading the title on the first page he saw.

“’Demon Summoning’? Where did you find this thing?”

“It was just in one of the donation boxes. Don’t read it; that’s how the demons escape.”

Hikaru smiled, snapping the book closed and fixing Inoo with a look. “Are you afraid of the demon book?” he asked.

“No. I just want you to stop being stupid.”

“I’m sure that’s it.”

“It is! Shut up.”

Laughing, Hikaru threw the book in one of the empty boxes. The manager would be back the day after tomorrow; they could ask her then about whether the book could stay or go.

They didn’t manage to get all the books unpacked, closing the store together and promising to meet again tomorrow to get the job finished. Hikaru wasn’t looking forward to working late into the evening for two nights in a row, but it would be better to simply get this project out of the way; clearing out the storage room was something the entire store had been working on for weeks, and it was almost done.

The book weighed on his mind as he went home, wondering what exactly it could be. The binding almost looked homemade, the words handwritten, coming together to make the entire thing look rather genuine. It would be a good part of an elaborate prank he realized, and as soon as that thought crossed his mind he spent the rest of the night plotting out the perfect way to terrify Inoo tomorrow at work. The book already scared his coworker, so he didn’t need to do much there--a few fancy shadows, dimmed lights, and orchestrated loud noises, and he would have Inoo so freaked out and angry at him that he would most likely find an entire container of itching powder in his underwear again. It would be worth it.

He was up later than he would like to admit due to planning the whole thing out, stopping by a coffee shop before heading to work to get a little caffeinated pick-me-up. The place was less crowded than was expected on a Sunday evening, Hikaru able to go right up to the counter upon walking in.

There was only one barista on duty, and as soon as Hikaru saw him he couldn’t help the smile on his face.

“Hikaru!” Yabu Kota smiled back at him, resting his elbow on the counter and his head in the palm of his hand, watching Hikaru walk up. “What can I get for you?”

“The usual, please.”

Yabu nodded, turning away much too quickly. This was the coffee shop Hikaru always went to, and he couldn’t help but notice after a few weeks that if it was the barista with “Kota” on his name tag that prepared his drink, he would get a cute note written on the cup. It was usually innocent stuff, like “smile!” or “you look nice today!” and while Inoo would usually tease him, it made Hikaru happy that a barista that cute would show any interest in him. Slowly though, the notes got more affectionate, and finally, Hikaru asked Yabu out to lunch. They had clicked incredibly well, and had parted ways with exchanged phone numbers and a tentative promise to meet again, next week at the same place. It was tomorrow, and Hikaru was more excited for it than he was willing to admit.

“We... We are still on for lunch tomorrow, right?” Yabu asked, sliding Hikaru’s coffee over to him. Hikaru nodded.

“I am if you are.”

Yabu nodded back, smiling, his eyes disappearing in the cutest way. Hikaru just winked, Yabu laughing, and Hikaru didn’t notice until he had left that his coffee cup had a bunch of little hearts drawn on it in black pen. Beaming, Hikaru tried not to skip on his way to his car. He was going to scare the pants off his friend _and_ go on a date with his adorable boyfriend. This week was shaping up to be spectacular.

He arrived to work early, setting things up, and when Inoo walked in he had all of the electric candles turned on--real candles in a bookstore was too much of a fire hazard—with random symbols he had made up on the spot taped to the walls, and the fake cobwebs strewn just about everywhere.

“...what cult activity did I just walk in to?” Inoo asked, facial expression suggesting that he was already past done with Hikaru’s antics. “Why are all the light switches taped in the off position? What on earth are you doing?”

“I wanted to try out the book, that’s all.” Hikaru kept his tone innocent, picking the creepy book up and flipping to the page he had found earlier. Demon Summoning. “You know, just to see if it works.”

“How stupid are you?” Inoo’s tone had a hint of fear in it, reaching over to try and take the book from Hikaru’s hands. Hikaru jumped back. “This is exactly how the movie ‘Evil Dead’ happened. Don’t.”

“Have you ever seen Evil Dead?”

“I saw the trailer.” Inoo grumbled defensively. “Come on Hikaru, we have work to do.”

“’To summon a demon, create a circle out of the material of your choice and read the following phrase aloud.’” Hikaru recited, completely ignoring him. “Wow Inoo, how do you pronounce that first word?”

“I’m not helping you with this.” Inoo insisted, putting his hands on his hips and raising an eyebrow. His face turned panicked when Hikaru stood in front of the ring of books he had made earlier and began to read, pretending that he wasn’t horribly mispronouncing the words on the page.

“Stop. What are you doing? Cut it out! Hikaru!”

Hikaru danced away as Inoo ran after him, laughing as he read, and when the spell was finished he snapped the book closed, crossing his arms.

“I hate you.” Inoo told him, frowning as Hikaru smiled at him again. “I swear, Hikaru, if something--”

Then the loud bang Hikaru set up played over the intercom, Inoo jumping so badly that he fell to the floor. Hikaru howled in laughter, the book landing on the ground with a thump as he put his hands on his knees to stop himself from joining his friend on the ground, getting a loud curse and a punch in the calf, the only place on him Inoo could reach from his sprawled position.

“I hate you, I hate you I hate you I hate--”

Inoo stopped in the middle of his cursing, mouth frozen, Hikaru asking “What?”

“The book.”

Hikaru looked, eyes widening. The book had landed closed, sliding over the carpet and towards the ring in the center of the room. Then it snapped open on its own, to the Demon Summoning page Hikaru had read from. Wind picked up throughout the room, posters ripping off the walls, books flying around and slamming into the shelves.

“Hikaru?”

“Inoo, I didn’t--”

A loud roaring sound began, Hikaru glancing down at the book, wondering if he should grab it or kick it or do _something_ when Inoo shouted in shock, making him look back up.

Two people were standing in the circle now, the wind and roaring stopping. The first person was alarming, a noticeable red tint to his skin, eyes a startling deep blue, with more than a few earrings through his ears. His hair was black, his clothes loose and hanging on his body in an extremely attractive way. And next to him...

...was Yabu.

“It worked.” Inoo murmured. “Hikaru, I swear if you brought actual, literal Satan out from Hell, then--”

“You must be very, very sinful to summon someone like me, human.” The wild-looking one said. Thankfully, the creature was talking to Inoo, extending a hand to help him up off the floor. Shaking, Inoo took it, looking afraid to refuse. “What beautiful lips you have. I would love to taste them.”

“Hikaru... Hikaru, he wants to eat me.” Inoo whispered, eyes locked on the demon, trying to inch away. Hikaru was still looking at Yabu, who, upon seeing him, was completely avoiding his gaze.

“Kota… You’re a demon?” he asked. “An actual… I just summoned—and you, and, and _that_, and---and you’re a demon?”

“No!” Yabu exclaimed. “No, I...”

“I just read something out of a creepy book, and then out of nowhere… I was kidding this was just a joke, I said everything wrong, and those are electric candles!”

“Hikaru, if we survive this, I’m going to kill you.” Inoo hissed in his ear.

“I’m not a demon. There are no demons. It’s fine.” Yabu said, trying to push his companion behind him. Inoo wasn’t having any of it.

“I refuse to believe that thing is human. Hikaru,” the next words were said in a whisper. “Did that stupid book say anything about banishing demons? Killing them? Anything?”

“I didn’t actually read it!” Hikaru protested. “And… I don’t want to kill him.”

“Which him?” Inoo was not amused.

“Well, Inoo, you know that boyfriend I was talking about? The one without the piercings; that’s him.”

“You’re dating a demon?!” Inoo shrieked, and their conversation was no longer private.

“I’m not a demon.” Yabu repeated, much to Inoo’s exasperation.

“I watched him summon you. I watched him read those stupid words out of that stupid book, and I saw you pop out of the ground. The underworld. The infernal regions. Wherever.”

“Okay, I’m a demon.” Yabu gave a nervous smile. “I’m sorry about him, by the way.” He said, grabbing his companion by the arm. “Yuya, stop.”

The one named Yuya just smiled at Inoo, revealing very white teeth and a very red mouth.

“What… What do you do as a demon?” Hikaru asked hesitantly.

“Um. Well.” Yabu was obviously hesitant to answer, rubbing his hands together. “Capture human souls, mostly.”

“And you were dating me? Were you planning on taking my soul?”

Yabu looked away, his answer coming slowly. “…no.”

“Yabu.”

“Yes, okay?”

Yuya stepped outside the circle, Inoo backing away behind Hikaru as he did so. Hikaru didn’t care much about that demon anymore, focused on his boyfriend. He didn’t know what to think of the feelings he was having. On top of the incredible suspension of disbelief, he was torn—he really, really liked Yabu, completely convinced that there was a connection between them, something that had made them click so easily, something that has made the warmth of Yabu’s hand in his feel so right. But honestly, he couldn’t date a demon, could he? Especially not one after his soul.

“I… I really liked you.” He decided to confess. Yabu didn’t meet his eyes.

“Liked?” he asked. “Not anymore?”

“I don’t know! I mean, yeah, I still like you, but…”

“I wanted to say no to your lunch offer, to keep you safe, because I can see how valuable and vibrant your soul is, but at the same time, I think that’s why I couldn’t help it. You were so nice, and so funny—”

“You found someone that laughs at your jokes?” Inoo managed to interject from where he was dancing out of reach of Yuya, behind a bookshelf. Hikaru threw him a glare that he knew his friend did not see.

“I guess this means you don’t still want to go to lunch.” Yabu sighed. Hikaru frowned.

“Well, that depends.” Hikaru stepped inside the circle of books, finding Yabu’s hand with his own. “If I go out with you, will I be able to keep my soul?”

Yabu smiled. “If you really want it that badly, then fine.”

Hikaru smiled back, about to push himself up on the balls of his feet for a kiss when Inoo shrieked, ruining the moment. Yuya had his friend in some sort of a dip, one hand entwined with Inoo’s and the other around his waist, almost as though they had been ballroom dancing.

“What’s with him?” Hikaru had to ask, pointing over his shoulder. Kota sighed.

“Well, he’s an incubus, so… He thinks he was summoned here to sleep with your friend.”

Hikaru had to laugh at that, especially now knowing that Inoo’s organs were going to be safe inside his body, regardless of the outcome of this encounter. Then he raised his eyebrows—Yuya was saying something, his voice low and sultry, and suddenly Inoo looked much less opposed to their proximity.

“He might be right.”


End file.
